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Friends, family and colleagues come together to celebrate his life and pay tribute through music, dance and song.

Guests were asked to wear bright and colourful clothing to the event, which saw the venue packed out as people poured in to say their final goodbyes.

Mr Harris’s wife of 21 years, Vicky, who described the actor as her hero, said: “He never liked parties but he would have loved this. He would have been overwhelmed and very humbled.

“He was taken very quickly, neither of us had time to prepare. The void he has left is indescribable.”

Despite the emotional occasion there were plenty of laughs throughout the performance, as Mr Harris’s sons Sam and Matt led tributes to their dad.

Posing as a stuntman, Matt performed a routine as Sam cheered him on, before Matt’s two sons came on to throw sweets out to the audience in true panto style.

Matt joked that it was the one time he didn’t want to hear the phrase ‘he’s behind you’.

Comedian Jon Monie, who appeared alongside Mr Harris in panto in Bath, said it had been a “most remarkable event.”

He said: “I’ve never been to a funeral where there has been so much laughter, where water has been squirted and where sweets have been handed out.

“It ended with a standing ovation and was a fitting send-off for a truly memorable man.”

As well as moving tributes and memories from Mr Harris’s family and friends, including Casualty actor Clive Mantle, the performance featured acts from Theatre Royal colleagues including a comedy sketch from Mr Monie, Howard Coggins and Marcus Knibbs, and a dance routine from youngsters at the Dorothy Coleborn School of Dancing.

Mr Knibbs, who appeared in Mother Goose and Jack and the Beanstalk with Mr Harris, said it had been a very special event.

He said: “He was a master craftsman and a generous spirit. I am very honoured and privileged to be here.”